ambition
Use Ambition in a sentence
ən noun
1.
an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment: Too much ambition caused him to be disliked by his colleagues.
2.
the object, state, or result desired or sought after: The crown was his ambition.
3.
desire for work or activity; energy: I awoke feeling tired and utterly lacking in ambition.
verb (used with object)
4.
to seek after earnestly; aspire to.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English ambicio(u)n (< Middle French) < Latin ambitiōn- (stem of ambitiō), equivalent to amb- ambi- + -i- go + -t- past participle suffix + -iōn- -ion
1300–50; Middle English ambicio(u)n (< Middle French) < Latin ambitiōn- (stem of ambitiō), equivalent to amb- ambi- + -i- go + -t- past participle suffix + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
am·bi·tion·less, adjective
am·bi·tion·less·ly, adverb
pre·am·bi·tion, noun
su·per·am·bi·tion, noun
Synonyms
1. aspiration, yearning, longing. 2. goal, aim. 3. drive, force.
1. aspiration, yearning, longing. 2. goal, aim. 3. drive, force.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To ambition
00:10
Ambition
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
ambition (æmˈbɪʃən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | strong desire for success, achievement, or distinction |
| 2. | something so desired; goal; aim |
| [C14: from Old French, from Latin ambitiō a going round (of candidates), a striving to please, from ambīre to go round; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
ambition
mid-14c., from L. ambitionem (nom. ambitio) "a going around (to solicit votes)," from ambitus, pp. of ambire "to go around" (see ambient). Rarely used in the literal sense in English; the sense of "eager or inordinate desire of honor or preferment" goes back to the Latin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The desire to read ahead is supposed to signal ambition and achievement.
They were written by real people, with real income problems and ambitions — people who might be your next-door neighbor.
My role would be to make the composition playable so that any group, with enough ambition, could perform it.
He was the newsroom's champion, whose proven shrewdness and ambition would now be deployed in their defense.
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